I'm guessing that in the days before cellphones, pagers, and texting that perhaps a person who had been a target for bullying would have the opportunity to be away from their tormentors. I know that was the case for me. My grade school used the trimester system to educate and so we had relatively regular 3-week breaks throughout the year. This allowed me some downtime where I didn't feel the pressures having to face those who targeted me. Also, our family's repatriation trips back to the US allowed a complete removal from the bullying environment. Later on in boarding school, their education system also included extended breaks and long Summers which afforded me the opportunity to completely away from those bullies. Even though I was glad to be away - I did often times feel the dread of returning to my dormitory hall where adult supervision was minimal and the bullying would begin again.
If a person is a bully, they carry that attitude where ever they go. So, they're going to torment some target somewhere - anywhere. Whether they go to a camp for the Summer or if they stay at home and roam their neighborhoods, they're going to continue the same behavior patterns.
School Bullies Don’t Take a Summer Vacation
With today's technology, it makes it easy for bullies to maintain contact with their targets. Cyberbullying is a growing problem and it's not limited to only "mean-girls" texting or posting hurtful messages on their blogs and social media websites. Boys are involved with this as well and their participation in this form of bullying is increasing. Today's youth are so attached to texting and cyber-connectivity that it's not unusual to receive messages in the middle of the night and very early morning hours. This means that bullies now have 24/7 access to their victims where ever they go, what ever they're doing. Communications companies have been working to improve their policies on how to handle cyberbullying.
Twitter Terms of Service: http://help.twitter.com/entries/115246-safety-privacy-cyberbullying-and-cyberharassment
Facebook Terms of Service: http://www.facebook.com/#!/terms.php?ref=pf
MySpace Terms of Service: http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.terms
gMail Terms of Service: http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/user_terms.html
Yahoo Terms of Service: http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html
AT&T Terms of Service: http://digitalexpress.att.com/reg_terms.php
Sprint Terms of Service: http://www.sprint.com/legal/agreement.html
If YOU or someone you know is being cyberbullied, let them know that there are policies in place to help them make it stop. Encourage them contact their media provider and report the abuse.
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